Journal of the Kiryu Caravan
by High Air
Summary: First fan fic. Its about a the memories of a small caravan in the FF:CC universe. Documents the journey of 5 people travelling the world collecting myrrh for their town. R & R please
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue:**

Assistant Chime was searching the archives for information concerning King Epitav. While searching, she uncovered a dusty book. Curious, she grabbed the book and dusted it off. There on the cover of the book she saw the title, 'J_ournal of the Kiryu Caravan_'.

"This is the name of our ancestors town during the time of miasma." Chime quietly said to herself. "This is indeed a good find." She opened the book, and on the first page she read the following: _'In this journal are written many memories – Some deeply etched in our hearts, and some long forgotten.'_

**Day 1: Departure**

Today is a special day. No one could sleep all night due to the anticipation and excitement of the morning. Well except maybe Sonluth, I swear NOTHING bothers that Lilty. As soon as the sun came over the horizon everyone got out of their beds and ran down to the crystal. They all wanted to be first to get to the crystal so they could start their journey.

"Excited I see." The village elder said as I arrived. All of us nodded in agreement, even Sonluth. "That is good." The elder said with a chuckle. "You six are about to set off on a journey. A journey to being the lifeline of the town Kiryu. There will be high points, and low points, but remember you are all going out to assist this town. Our fate rests with you. Trix the tailor's daughter, Kura the Alchemist's son, Sonluth the Blacksmith's son, Khajit the Fisherman's son, Andy the Merchant's son and Bernny the Rancher's son. May the fates be kind as you begin your journeys into the world in search of Myrrh to replenish our life giving crystal." The elder then took some distilled 'crystal' water and sprinkled it on each of the new caravan members. Kura flinched as she did not expect the water to be so cold. The other boys showed next to no reaction when they were sprinkled. The elder then lead them to a papaopamus which was tied to the wagon that they'd call home for the next few weeks. Nearby to the wagon were to round little creatures with small wings and a little red puffball hanging from their foreheads. Kura knelt down to examine them. Noticing her curiousity, they both turned to face her.

"Never seen a moogle before little miss, kupo?" one of them asked. He looked older than his counterpart and had a red bandana wrapped around his head. He also was carrying a small bag that seemed filled with maps and letters.

"Umm… no, not really." Kura responded back.

"Well, my name is Stiltzkin." The moogle said. "This here is Mogri, he will be assisting you with delivering letters to and from home. He can also assist you with carrying your chalice should one of you decide to go out by yourselves."

"You can do all that?" Kura asked. "The chalice looks bigger then you."

"I most certainly can kupo!" Mogri exclaimed.

"Ok, ok, don't get jumpy." Kura responded.

She stood back up and went back over to her fellow caravaners. They were all about the same age; ranging from Kura who was nineteen to Bernny who was twenty one. All of them had grown up in the town of Kiryu and were well acquainted with each other. Kura was the only female of the generation and Clavat. Trix, Bernny and Khajit were all Selkie males, while Sonluth and Andy were male Lilty and Yuke respectively. Everyone received a pendant, and weapon from their parents and one last pep talk from their family before they got onto the wagon to depart.

"I don't need to tell you how proud this makes us feel." Sonluth's mother said to him. "Come back alive and make us proud!"

"And if you run into trouble come back home! I'll make sure they never mess with our family again!" Sonluth's little sister chimed in. Sonluth just shook his head and smiled at the remark.

"Now Kura, I know you've always run around with the boys, but can you PLEASE promise to act like a lady sometimes?" Kura's mother pleaded with her.

"Aww, come on dear, I'm sure Kura will be fine. The boys will see to her safety, although, I'm sure she has your rough streak in her." Kura's dad said.

"Don't worry in a few years I'll be able to take your place big sis! Then you can come back and help mom around the house." Kura's little brother added.

"You, will get your OWN caravan." Kura responded to her brother. "And mom, I'll act like a lady, in town, sometimes, maybe, occasionally." Kura responded to her mother. "I'll be fine, I PROMISE." Kura said as she crossed her fingers behind her back.

"That's so good to hear!" Kura's mother said as she embraced her daughter one final time.

"I know you know what you are doing." Trix's father told him. "I trust your judgement, just make sure your groupies understand the same."

"And don't forget to keep things neat and clean!" his mother chimed in.

"Yes mother, I'll keep things in order." Trix said with a sigh. "And no worries dad, I'll keep to what I think is well and good. I don't think we'll have much problems on the trip."

"Remember, if its shiny, grab it. Ask questions later." Khajit's mother instructed him.

"And no hitting on the girls until after you secure the treasure!" his father added.

"I got it, I got it!" Khajit responded. "Don't worry I'll be back here in no time with loads of money."

"Bernny, just come back safely." Bernny's mother said fighting tears. "If you can, just stay with the papaopamus and let the others go out and adventure."

"I will mom." Bernny responded. "I'm durable, I'll be able to make it back to help take care of the ranch." Bernny's mom then started crying on her husband's shoulder as Bernny walked over to the caravan wagon.

"Andy, remember, life is a battle. You must earn every gil. Even if they are your companions on this trip, you mustn't let them get off with every and anything. You still have to treat them as normal customers if they ask you for something." Andy's father said.

"And don't forget to check the competition while you are out. So we know what to sell and for what price." Andy's mother added.

"Otherwise I'll take your job as family merchant!" Andy's little brother exclaimed.

"No need to worry about that." Andy said with a smile. He bid his family farewell and joined the caravan.

Bernny and Sonluth sat up front of the wagon. Bernny was holding the reins and Sonluth was holding his spear incase anything attacked them on their trip. Trix and Khajit were inside the wagon, while Kura sat in the back waving to everyone as they left town. Mogri decided to perch himself onto of the papaopamus's head which didn't seem to bother the beast at all. The whole town had come out to see the caravan off. And they all waved with mixed feeling of joy and sadness as they sent their caravan into the world.

A world, that unknown to the new caravaners had killed the town's last caravan eight years prior. This was why they were being sent out at a younger age than normal. The crystals' reserve of Myrrh was running out and the town could not afford to wait for much longer.

Everyone watched the caravan go out of sight and then returned back to their usual duties and jobs. As for the caravaners themselves, the first day came to an uneventful end.


	2. Day2:River Belle Path

Day 2: River Belle Path

**Day 2: River Belle Path**

"They say that wicked monsters prowl the road along this river bank, but no one ever sees them. I asked the elder why this was so, and he responded, 'because anyone the monsters find is promptly eaten.' But it is long since anyone met such a fate. For nowadays, people take another route, far away from the old spooky road. Only we walk the old way now, travelers in the Crystal Caravans."

Kura remembered hearing this from her mother when asked about the closest source of Myrr to Kiryu. Everyone else had heard similar stories, mostly to keep their curious adventures away from harm. But now for the first time, they were planning on entering the River Belle Path. Sonluth had woken up early and had started to prepare breakfast when Kura sleepily emerged from the caravan.

"Do you ever sleep?" she asked with a yawn.

"I do, when I know its safe to." Sonluth responded.

Kura plopped down across from Sonluth and stared into the fire. She was obviously a little nervous about the first outing with the caravan and was going over some of the swordplay tips her father had given her before she left. Her concentration was broken as Khajit emerged taking a bite and chewing loudly on a stripped apple.

"Our first complete day of adventuring is here." He said in between chewing. "You guys ready to grab some treasure?"

"Yeah…" Kura responded haphazardly. Sonluth didn't initially show any response at all as he finished preparing the caravan's breakfast. By now the others had started to wake up as well as the camp soon became quite active as the group started planning out their actions for the day.

"We need two people to remain here with the papaopamus while the rest of us search for the myrrh within the area." Sonluth said as he finished up eating.

"Well, I have intention of being left behind." Khajit said. "So I'm with the team venturing down the path."

"I wouldn't mind going either." Andy spoke up. "I'm sure there are lots of things in there I can take back to the shop to sell. And I'm probably better versed in things arcane then the rest of you."

"Ok, that's the full team for now." Sonluth said.

"How? I only count three people so far." Khajit interjected.

"Kura will be the fourth member." Sonluth responded.

"What? Why?" Khajit asked. "Did you two have a tender moment early this morning that she automatically gets a place?"

"No!" Sonluth said forcefully. He took his spear and stabbed Kura's nearby shield. "See that, we need that type of defense going into an unknown area."

"That's all well and good." Khajit said, "but can she effectively use it? After all if we take Trix or Bernny, then we can do a lot of evading and we won't need to worry about needing defense."

"I'd still rather have some form of defense." Sonluth responded, "but if Trix wants to go and Kura wants to stay, then I have no objections."

"I don't mind staying…" Kura responded. "I want to go, but I'll let you guys scout ahead."

"You make that sound like we are lab rats." Andy remarked.

"Well you are." Kura said. "You are going somewhere we've never been to, and all we know about this place is what our parents told us."

"I'll stay here with Kura." Bernny volunteered. "So Trix you can go if you want."

"Sure… I suppose." Trix responded. He didn't really like Kura's logic, although it did bear some truth to it, but since he was being made out to be the fourth member, he went along.

"Ok, now that that is settled, we should move out ASAP." Sonluth said picking up his spear. "We should be back around mid-afternoon."

"So around 3pm?" Kura asked.

Sonluth nodded. "Yeah."

Trix and Khajit ran to get their Solid rackets, while Andy grabbed his Wave Hammer. Sonluth always had his spear at his side and was ready to go instantaneously with his Partisan. The quartet then set off down the pathway leading down towards the River Belle.

The papaopamus started getting restless as the group walked off, so Bernny went over to calm it down. He spoke softly to it and pet it until finally, the papaopamus calmed down enough to settle down and rest for a bit.

"Wow, that's pretty good." Kura said in awe.

"Nah, its what I've been raised to do." Bernny said. "My family are ranchers, and we deal with this stuff all the time."

"True." Kura said with a shrug. Then she added, "I'm going to make some medicines in case they need it when they return." Bernny acknowledged Kura and he started to prepare food for the papaopamus.

Meanwhile, the exploring quartet had reached the River Belle Path proper. They looked down the final slope that lead down to the river.

"Not much going on down here." Khajit remarked.

"Well, still be on your guard." Sonluth remarked as they headed down near the river. Sonluth started running point, but Khajit was in the lead with Sonluth.

"I'm not letting you get everything!" Khajit yelled as he went a little ahead of Sonluth. Sonluth just ignored him and let him go a little ahead, since he knew there was no stopping Khajit. Trix and Andy were a little behind Sonluth, just outside of his partisan's reach. Trix was being careful as he was holding the chalice that protected them from the Miasma.

Soon a treasure chest came into sight, and Khajit bolted off to get to it first. By the time the others got to it, he had already taken everything out of the box and was looking over it.

"You know, there are some traps around stuff like this." Sonluth warned Khajit.

"Yeah, but I got reflexes fast enough to avoid it." Khajit responded. "That's also why I wear light clothes like these instead of heavy armour like you."

"So what did you find?" Trix asked, changing the subject.

"Some gil, and these small little round things." Khajit said. "They look shiny, so I think I will keep them."

"Let me see them." Andy asked. Khajit was more then a little hesitant to part with his new found treasure, but he finally relented and allowed Andy to look at it.

"This is magicite." Andy said after a quick glance. Another quick glance told him his companions had no idea what he was talking about, so he continued. "Magicite allows us to cast magic by alchemic means. They are only good around the myrrh tree they are located around. However, there can be found more permanent means by crafting special alchemist rings to make the magicite stable enough to use anywhere."

"Umm… ok, I guess you can keep that one." Khajit said.

"But what spell is it?" Sonluth asked.

"This one is blue, so its blizzard." Andy explained. "Others commonly found are the purple magicite thunder, the red magicite fire, and the green magicite cure. Rarely you can find the white magicite clear, and the yellow magicite resurrect. You can also combine these to form stronger versions of the spells."

"Sounds easy." Trix commented. "But we should move on before we waste too much time."

"Agreed." Sonluth said. As they were about to move off a small squirrel-like creature suddenly appeared and attacked Andy.

"What the!" Sonluth exclaimed as he turned to face the sudden ambush. By the time everyone else was on guard, the Mu had borrowed back underground. It then re-emerged in the middle of the group and sprang an attack at Khajit. Khajit dodged its attack and the others then began attacking it before it had a chance to borrow back underground. Just as they were about to finish it off, another Mu sprang up from where the first attack occurred. Its attack would have landed if Andy didn't cast a blizzard spell that stopped it dead in its tracks.

"Thanks for that." Sonluth said to Andy. Khajit found a key that was dropped by the Mu. The key was small enough to carry, but due to its weird shape, it made fighting with weapons a little difficult. They were just going to leave it, when Trix spied a gate in the distance and surmised the key was for the gate. Sonluth picked up the key, since Trix was already carrying the chalice, Khajit refused to carry anything that would hamper his treasure hunting ability, and Andy needed to keep his hands free to cast. The quartet ignored the two Mus that popped up on their way to the gate, since their fighting force was down by two. As Trix had suspected, the gate did indeed open from the key, but the Mus were not about to let them past. However, having experience from the initial Mus, the group easily dispatched the current duo and continued to press on. Most of the enemies they found were Mus, although they also ran into a few goblins. However, between Khajit's agility to dodge their attacks and Andy's blizzard spell, they too were not much of a challenge for the caravaners. Near the end of their current path, Khajit was still bragging about his latest victory as a small house came into view. There were no nearby monsters, which they found odd. They cautiously approached the house when something hailed at them from behind.

"THIEVES KUPO!" someone yelled behind them. They all whirled around and prepared to attack whatever it was behind them. To their surprise it was just a little mog.

"You gotta be kidding me." Trix muttered.

"Put your weapons down." The mog ordered. "This is my house, and you're trying to attack it!"

"No we're not." Sonluth responded. "I'm wondering why there is a house out here in the middle of all these monsters."

"Us mogs are immune to the effects of the miasma. As such, the monsters think we are one of them and leave us alone." The mog explained.

"Ah, ok." Trix responded.

"Oh, before you go, here take this." The mog said as he handed them a card. It looked like a blank table, then the mog put a little stamp on it. "This will help the other mogs identify you as caravaners. They will offer you a safe place to hide out in and give you stamps. We give people something nice who can collect them all."

"Gotta get them all? Sounds like some horrible children's game." Trix remarked as he accepted the card.

"Oh, and the myrrh tree you're looking for is down a small path on the left. You probably didn't see it because it was hidden by some small bushes." The mog said.

"Ok, thanks." Trix replied.

"You're welcome, kupo!" the mog said. It then waddled over to the house and went inside. Then it yelled out the window as the group walked off. "Beware the claw Kupo!"

"What did it say?" Sonluth asked.

"Something about claws." Trix responded.

"Probably a warning about the goblins." Khajit said with a shrug. "But we've dealt pretty good with them." The group didn't think any more on the matter and they retraced their steps back to where the mog had said the hidden path was. They found it with little difficulty, and after dispatching the few enemies that remained, they arrived at a tunnel. Andy healed everyone with the cure magicite they had found and they proceeded down the tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel, there was a large field. At the far end there was a majestic rainbow formed in the mist of a waterfall. At the other side of the waterfall, they saw the myrr tree. The group excitedly moved towards the tree when suddenly something burst out from the waterfall and landed on the field between them and the waterfall.

"What the hell is this wildlife on?" Sonluth blurted out as he saw the size of the crab in front of them.

"I don't know, but this isn't a good sign with all those spears and swords in its foreclaw." Trix remarked.

"I don't think its going to let us through without a fight." Andy said.

"Here it comes! Get ready!" Sonluth yelled as the crab proceeded to engage the group. It jumped into the midst of everyone and scattered the group. Trix was still carrying the chalice and had to dive out of the way with it. Sonluth was dangerously close to the edge of the protective area of the chalice. Trix wanted to get closer, but the crab turned its attention to him as he tried to move closer to Sonluth. Trix was forced to evade a few physical attacks as the crab zeroed in on him. Khajit launched a flurry of attacks that got the crabs attention, allowing Trix and Sonluth time to safely move closer together. Andy fully healed Sonluth, and then began healing, but was rapidly falling behind as the group was struggling to find an opening in the crab's defenses.

"This is why we needed Kura!" Sonluth yelled. "Her defense would have been most useful right now."

"OK, fine, you win this round." Khajit said. "But right now, let try take care of this crab first."

Just as Khajit made that remark, Andy was able to use a blizzard spell and a large part of the fore claw broke off, nearly falling and hitting Trix. The battle was taking a lot out of the group, but seeing that happen gave them a second wind to redouble their efforts in killing this current foe. After getting in a few more hits, the crab was showing signs of desperation, and was casting spells of its own. One of these spells caught Trix off-guard and hit him, causing him to drop the chalice. Seizing the opportunity, the crab leapt in the air and was about to crush Trix when a combination of Sonluth's skewer attack and Andy's blizzard attack knocked the crab away. The crab staggered as if trying to recover, and then collapsed on the ground.

"Did… we do it?" Trix said in between heavy breaths.

"I think we did." Sonluth replied. "But lets get this over with before it decides to wake up and continue this battle."

"Good idea." Trix responded. The group made their way over to the tree to collect the vital drop of myrrh. Then just as Andy predicted, the magicite went dark and became useless. They were then forced to virtually limp back to the waiting caravan, where Kura was more then a little shocked to see them in such bad condition.


	3. Chapter 3: Striped Brigands

**Chapter 3: Striped Brigand**

"What happened?" Kura exclaimed more then asked. "You guys look like you've gone through a war ground."

"We kinda did." Sonluth responded.

"Here, let me get you guys some medicine." Kura said as she darted off towards the caravan.

Trix had managed to carry the chalice back, but he promptly dropped it as soon as he was close to the caravan. Bernny came over to help the others get comfortable while Kura gathered her medicines.

"That was a lot harder then I would have thought." Andy said as he winced in pain. "Next time I think I'll stay with the caravan."

"But you're the only magic user we have." Trix noted. "You're a stable in the exploring party."

"I don't think I can do this too often. I'm not quite as durable as the rest of you." Andy responded. "If you guys come up against another mage, then I'll happily go, but against brutes like that, I'm going to take a rain check on it."

Just then Kura came back with her potions and medicines. There were a few medicines with the supply the caravaners started with from home, but Kura had made a few in a bid to stretch those for emergency situations. Khajit wasn't hurt too badly as Kura sent him off rather quickly. Trix's injuries were more superficial as the chalice had blocked some of the attacks he had endured. Sonluth didn't want a check up, and made it very difficult for Kura. Eventually, Kura bashed him with her shield to knock him out cold. Other then the bump she had just given him, Sonluth had a small bit of misma poisoning, and some mana residue from the magic he had been hit with. His armour had defended him pretty good against other physical attacks. She breathed a heavy sigh and asked Bernny to move Sonluth inside the caravan to rest until he woke up.

Kura returned the medicine to its proper locations, while the caravaners all recovered from their maiden exploration. Khajit and Trix were chatting outside the caravan with Andy about their latest battle when Mogri waddled into camp.

"I've got mail Kupo!" Mogri announced joyfully.

"Mail? At this time?" Khajit asked.

"I don't think I can OPEN a letter." Andy said as he rubbed his aching shoulder.

"Are you guys all talking to yourself again?" Kura asked ash she popped her head out of the caravan. She did not see nor hear him initially, and was about to say something else when Mogri moved sideways and came into her view. "Oh, Mogri! What brings you out here?"

"I've got mail for some members of your caravan kupo!" Mogri responded.

"Really?" Kura asked as she jumped out of the caravan and quickly came over to where Mogri was standing. "Anything for me?"

"No, kupo, nothing for you." Mogri responded.

"Oh…" Kura said despondently. She drooped her shoulders and went back into the caravan.

"She must have been looking forward to a letter." Khajit remarked.

"I have something for you three and Sonluth!" Mogri broke into Khajit's remark. He waddled around and handed everyone their letters. Sonluth received one from his mother, Khajit received one from his father, Trix received one from his dad and Andy received one from his mother.

"I guess we should go wake up Sonluth…" Andy remarked as Mogri handed out the letters.

"Are you kidding?" Khajit remarked sarcastically. "Just leave him out for now, he can respond with the next batch of mail that we get."

"No can do." Mogri interrupted. "Everyone wants a response, and a souvenir of your travels."

Khajit, Trix and Andy all looked at each other.

"Well, Sonluth is the quiet type, I guess we could put three dots at the bottom in response. I'm sure his parents would be use to getting that type of response from him." The others hesitantly agreed, and put the three dots at the bottom of Sonluth's letter and sent back a small piece of copper they had found. The rest wanting to get Mogri away before Sonluth woke up skimmed over their letters, and sent home a small 'I'm alright' message and some gil and then quickly sent Mogri on his way.

As Mogri disappeared out of sight, Kura and Bernny came back outside.

"No mail for me either?" Bernny asked Trix, Khajit and Andy.

"Nope, none at all." Khajit responded.

"None for Sonluth either?" Kura asked.

The trio had a moment of awkward silence before Khajit finally responded with a moderately straight face. "No there was nothing there for Sonluth. Mogri said only things there were for the three of us present."

Kura didn't fully believe Khajit, but since she wasn't in the mood to argue she just shrugged and plopped down near to the camp fire. The trio breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the immediate danger was over. The rest was short lived as a Selkie and a Moogle approached the caravaners.

"Who are you? And where is your challace?" Trix asked as the duo came near.

"Well my name is Artemecion, and as I'm sure you know us Moogle don't need crystals to survive out here." The moogle responded. "This here is my flunkie Bal Dat. I've given him special powers that allow him to not require a challace as well."

"Sounds fishy." Khajit mused.

"That's almost too cliché coming from you." Bernny remarked.

"Whatever." Khajit remarked. "But what is it you wanted that you approached us?"

"We were looking to see if you had any Striped Apples." Bal Dat blurted out.

Everyone gave each other weird looks as Kura came back from the camp fire to investigate the visitor.

"What's going on here guys." She said as she looked over Bal Dat and Artemecion.

"These two randomly showed up and asked for a striped apple." Bernny responded.

"Yeah, and you better give it to us… or else…" Bal Dat started to say.

"Or else what?" Kura asked, unaware of the ploy and inadvertently calling his bluff.

"Umm… we haven't thought that far, but it would be a heinous crime. For we are… the Striped Brigands!" Artemecion announced.

The caravaners did not seem at all impressed and Khajit went as far as to let out a small yawn. "I think your methods need a little more work." Khajit responded after he finished yawning.

"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!!!" a sudden yell pierced the otherwise tranquil air. "DIE! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" A few moments later an older Selkie came into view from behind the caravan with Sonluth in pursuit.

"Ah! It's a mad Lilty! Like the Black Knight!" the elder Selkie exclaimed as he ran up to the congregation. Khajit took his time to stick out his foot to send the Selkie sprawling to the ground in front of them. Kura caught Sonluth as he was about to impale his spear into the grounded Selkie with a jump attack.

"Now this is something… You weren't trying to STEAL anything from us were you?" Trix asked.

"Of course not!" Bal Dat responded. "I've never seen this Selkie before in my life."

"LIKE HELL YOU WEREN'T!" Sonluth yelled as Kura continued to restrain him.

"Calm down Sonluth!" Kura said as she held on to him.

"No one steals ANYTHING from me!" Sonluth fired back.

"We don't KNOW him!" Artemecion exclaimed.

"Despite how he's hanging onto you to get away from Sonluth?" Trix remarked.

"Argh! Fine, Artemecion, grab Meh Gat! We're gonna pull out for now. Next time though, we'll get you caravaners! Consider yourselves lucky." Bal Dat said as he ran off.

"That's MY line!" Sonluth fired off. "Now get back here so I can impale you in honourable combat!" But by now they had disappeared beyond a ridge in the distance. "You're just going to let them get away!"

"Well Sonluth, its late in the day, and they are able to move without a challace. Even if we did chase them, they have a head start and are able to move freely without the challace to slow them down." Trix explained.

"Do you people not eat your wheaties or something! We can catch them no problem!" Sonluth said.

"Not today Sonluth." Kura responded and then she headed back over to her seat by the camp fire.

"Fine…" Sonluth said as he muttered something else and took a seat near the camp fire.

"How does she do that?" Trix asked Bernny, Andy and Khajit. No one answered him and they instead all fell inline to the camp fire. Darkness was soon upon them, and after a meal, the group talked about the events of the day and made plans to go to get their next drop of Myrrh at a place called Goblin Wall.


End file.
